WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Art Museum Toilets Elevated to an Art Form

The Art Museum Toilet Museum of Art is taking toilet homage to a new level. The organization has launched a Web site which displays a large selection of its collection of images of toilets taken at various art museums from around the world. Ranging from exclusive images of the Metropolitan, to the behind-closed-doors shots of the Hermitage to the decaying yet still flushing pictures of the Mongolian Art Museum (see below), this collection offers rich examples of the world’s museums best offerings.

Mongolian art museum toilet

The launch of this Web site is the first step in presenting the museum’s collection and is a long-anticipated turning point in its history. The museum was officially founded in 2005, and since its inception, staff have been collecting images from around the world. This collection is believed by experts to be the world’s largest and was built to showcase the forgotten art that can be found in every museum.

“This museum was founded in the spirit of Marcel Duchamp, who in 1917 produced the sculpture Fountain and changed the way we viewed art,” stated Director Robert Schlemielle. “This piece essentially showcased that art may not be hanging in the proud walls of a museum gallery, but in the common objects and in even in the restroom. So today we launch this website asking some of the same questions about the current art establishment and its high brow art.”

The Art Museum Toilet Museum of Art has been an organization for the past three years. The collection features digital works by its hand picked staff and some artist renditions of the selected toilets. The Museum also sells a catalog, select clothing, postcards, posters, prints, and CDs.

Museum of Photography, Tokyo

So if you’re a facility manager of a museum or gallery, make sure to get the recognition you deserve for your fabulous restrooms. The official submission process includes sending an image to: submissions@artmuseumtoilet.org. Museum officials ask that each image be labeled with the name of the museum, the day the photo was taken, and the name of the photographer. All will be posted if the image is selected.

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